In the past few decades, we've become familiar with cashless transactions via debit and credit cards. And now mobile payment options like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and others are getting consumers accustomed to using their smartphones for transactions. But that's not the end of the cashless payment story.

You've probably heard modern cars referred to as "smartphones on wheels" because of their increasing connectivity. Now vehicles are joining the mobile pay ecosystem so that drivers can have their cars pay for parking, fuel, and other services.

"The notion of transforming a car into a platform for payments is not as far off as some may think," Jim McCarthy, executive vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa, said in a statement. "And we have made a great deal of progress since first introducing the idea one year ago."

That was when Visa teamed with Pizza Hut and Accenture to introduce a concept that enables ordering a pizza from a car's dashboard. While that idea was (pardon the pun) pie in the sky and not exactly practical, it represented a next step in connected car mobile payments which could make everyday life for drivers much more convenient.

Just Park and Your Car Pays

Imagine pulling into a parking garage and not having to do anything other than find a spot. The driver would only need to find a garage (that participates in the mobile pay program and which an onboard navigation system can direct them to), push a button on an in-dash app, and leave.

Upon returning, the driver would know exactly how much time they're paying for and complete the transaction with another press of a button on the car's dashboard. If you run out of time before returning to the car, the mobile pay system automatically adds time and alerts you via a notification on your mobile device.

That's the idea behind a partnership between ParkWhiz and Visa on its connected car mobile-pay platform. "Eliminating the need for drivers to take tickets or check out at pay boxes is a giant step towards a frictionless experience and a big win for drivers," ParkWhiz CEO Aashish Dalal said.

Related

The mobile payment system could also make it easier to find and pay for fuel. There are already onboard nav apps that can alert drivers when a vehicle is low on fuel and direct them to the nearest filling station. With the mobile pay system, when the car pulls up at the pump, an app can determine the cost to the fill the tank and pay for the gas (as well as any snacks a driver purchases).

Visa said it plans to test the fuel app over a three-month period this spring in California and run a trial of the parking app concept in New York City. Last month, Ford also announced partnerships with ParkWhiz and Parkopedia in its new FordPass program, which will allow mobile payments through the automaker's Sync system. And Visa has tested the system so that it can handle billing for auto insurance and paying for road tolls.

"Working with Honda to test these prototypes gets us another step closer toward commercial reality," Visa's McCarthy said. And it gets drivers closer to never having to pull out their wallets to pay for services while on the road, or even carrying one. Now if we can just make mobile driver licenses a reality.

Doug Newcomb is a recognized expert on the subject of car technology within the auto industry and among the automotive and general media, and a frequent speaker at automotive and consumer electronics industry events. Doug began his career in 1988 at the car stereo trade publication Mobile Electronics, before serving as editor of the leading consumer magazines covering the topic, Car Audio and Electronics and Car Stereo Review/Mobile Entertainment/Road & Track Road Gear, from 1989 to 2005. In 2005 Doug started his own company, Newcomb Communications...
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